Lock-set for car-couplings.



J. P. & V. S. DURBI'N.

LOCK SET FOR GAR COUPLINGS.

APPLIoATIovN FILED AUG. 6, 1910.

1,038,388. Patented July 23, 1912.

coLUMBlA PLANOGRAPl-l C0.,WASH1NGTON D c JAMES F. DURBIN AND VOTAW S. DURBIN,OF FORTSCOTT, KANSAS.

LOCK-SET FOR CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 23, k1912.

Application filed August 6, 1910. Serial No. 575,885.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES F. DURBIN and Voraw S. Domani, citizens of the United States, residing at Fort Scott, in the co-unty of Bourbon and State of Kansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Lock-Sets for Car-Couplers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in railway car couplings, and has for its object to provide a novel construction of what is known as lockset mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel mechanism for actuating the lock or pin.

Referring to the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a coupler head provided with our invention, and showing the knuckle in a closed position with the locking-pin raised. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation similar to Fig. 2 and showing the gravity catch released and the locking-pin resting' on the tail piece of the knuckle, which latter is in the open position. Fig. 4 is a hori- Zontal sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 indicates the draw bar, 2 the coupler, 3 the knuckle, 4 the tail piece or tongue thereof, and 5 the pin on which the knuckle is pivotally mounted in the coupler head, all of these parts being of the usual or any preferred construction.

6 indicates the locking-pin which is vertically movable in a rectangular opening 7 formed in the draw head, and is designed to be engaged by a shoulder 8, formed on the rear end of the tail piece 4, for holding the knuckle in a closed position.

The head 2 is hollow as usual, and pivotally mounted in the upper part thereof, adjacent to the opening 7 is a gravity catch 9 provided on its upper end with a thumbpiece 10, and on its lower end with a hook 11. Projecting downwardly and forwardly from the outside of said gravity catch near the bottom thereof is a tongue 12, which may have its outer end enlarged, as indicated at. 13, to increase the weight and insure the automatic action of the catch. Said gravity catch, as a whole, is suspended on suitable bearings in the couplerhead by means of a cross pin 14,

I Pivotally mounted on onev side of the coupler-head, as indicated at 15, is al bellcrank lever 16, which has a straight arm 17 projecting into the coupler-head lwith its free end working in an aperture 18, formed in the lower end of the locking-pin 6. The other arm 19 of said lever projects through the side of the coupler-head and is bent upward, and has its outer end provided with an aperture 20, whereby a chain, or other suitable actuating means, may be attached thereto. The bell-crank lever 16 not only serves for raising the pin 6, but as its inner end projects into an aperture in said pin it prevents the same from being pulled out of the coupler. The floor of the coupler-head is provided with an incline 21 for causing the knuckle 3 to open automatically, the tail piece 4 riding on this incline as the knuckle is opened or'closed. To allow for the vertical play of the knuckle the same is provided with a pintle 22 through which the pin 5 passes, the apertures for the pin 5 being formed in lugs 23 on the coupler-head, and the pintle 22 being shorter than the distance between the lugs 23, as shown clearly in Fig. 1, in which the knuckle is in the closed position, and the bottom of the pintle 22 is shown raised a considerable distance above the lower lug 23. lhen the knuckle opens the pintle 22 will eventually rest upon the lower lug 23.

The operation is as follows: It being desired to uncouple the cars the arm 19 of the lever is pushed down to raise the pin 6 to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. When the said pin has reached its upmost position the gravity catch 9 will immediately swing inward so thatits hook 11 will engage the under side of the pin 6 and prevent it from falling. As soon as the cars are moved apart, the tail piece 4 will begin the descent of the incline 21 and eventually will strike the project-ing tongue 12, thereby moving the hook 11 from under the pin 6 and allowing the latter to fall upon the tail piece, as indicated in Fig. 3, in which position the pin will remain until the cars are again coupled. In this latter operation as the tail piece 4 is moved from under the pin 6 the latter will fall to the locking position.

While the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 3 it is obvious that if some unauthorized person should raise the pin 6 and the gravity catch should fall beneath the locking-pin, when the cars were brought together the pin could not fall. Such a contingency is provided against by the provision ot the projecting` tongue 12 on the gravity catch, which is engaged by the tail piece it and, as shown in Fig. 3, is held by the tail piece from movement inward. This position is also clearly indicated in Fig. 4. Should, however, the tail piece not assume the position shown in Figs. 8 and Il, or when in such position, and the pin 6 being raised should the wear of the parts permit the hook ll to move sufficiently to hold it up, the initial movement of the tail piece in the coupling operation will throw the tongue 12 outward and release the hook l1 from engagement with the pin G. This is accoin plished by curving the outer end of the tail piece at 24 so that said end of the tail piece acts in the manner of a cam to release the gravity catch should the pin 6 have been raised while the coupler was in the open position. As indicated above, the weight of the tongue l2, and especially it the outer end thereof be made relatively heavy, insures the automatic action of the gravity catch. This tongue is also devised to enable a coupler having the incline for causing the knuckle to open to be provided with a lockset of the kind described herein; that is to say, the said tongue projects downwardly a suiiicient distance to allow it to be engaged by the tail piece l after the same has fallen to the extreme position due to the passage of the same over the incline 2l.

We claim:

In a car coupler, in combination with a head, a knuckle pivotally mounted in said head and having a tail-piece, said knuckle and tail-piece being adapted to gradually descend to a lower plane as the knuckle opens, a locking-pin mounted for vertical movement in said head and adapted to be engaged by said tail-piece and to be raised out of engagement therewith, a gravitycatch pivotally mounted on the head and having a hook for engaging under the lower end ot said pin, and a tongue mounted on said catch and projecting laterally and downwardly therefrom to a position such that its outer end portion will be in the path of the tail-piece, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES F. DURBIN. VOTAW S. DURBIN.

lVitnesses O. BEN HALEY, C. T. HUNN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

